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EVA’s 1st Airbus 321-200 Delivered Ceremony staged in Hamburg

EVA Air and Airbus held a delivery ceremony for the carrier’s first A321-200 (registration number B-16201) in Hamburg today. Airbus especially arranged a traditional German dancing performance in the event. EVA President K.W. Chang, Airbus Senior Vice President (Asia), Jean-Francois Laval, GE Aviation General Manager of Greater China and Mongolia, Weiming Xiang, (on behalf of CFM) and Aviation Capital Group Executive Vice President, Global Marketing, Mr. John Feren joined in the ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the delivery. EVA will add a total of twelve A321-200s to its fleet by 2014.

After the delivery, EVA will ferry the passenger aircraft back to Taiwan. The carrier will initially deploy it on Taipei-Hong Kong and Taipei-Macau flights. Gradually, EVA will use its new A321-200s to replace MD90s and other old aircraft it currently operates on regional flights to destinations in Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and China. With the advanced aviation systems and technologies of A321-200, EVA will provide more comfortable flights to regional passengers.

Among the advantages of the A321-200, its cabins are more spacious than those of comparable narrow-body aircraft. And because EVA chose to power the aircraft with fuel-efficient CFM56-5B engine, it has a range of up to 5,950 kilometers, produces fewer carbon emissions and creates less noise pollution than other narrow-body aircraft.

EVA has also significantly upgraded the cabin environment of the A321-200, starting with seat design and the in-flight entertainment system. The carrier configured the aircraft with eight seats in business class and 176 in economy. Business class seats have a generous 45-inch (114-cm) pitch and those in economy have 31-32 inches (79-81 cm), similar to the configuration of many wide-body aircraft. EVA especially selects the seats made by RECARO, a German manufacturer renowned for its luxury sports car line and focus on both ergonomic design and safety.

EVA equipped Business Class on the new A321-200 with 10.6-inch personal touch screen and the latest Panasonic eFX film on-demand system (AVOD). In addition to an improved viewing experience, the AVOD system is easier and more convenient to use. EVA also installed 110V power outlets throughout the business cabin to address business travelers’ needs.

The economy cabin is outfitted with twenty 10.4-inch retractable overhead monitors and put headphone jacks for audio-visual programming in each seat so that passengers can enjoy movies and music throughout their flights.

The airline chose an in-flight entertainment system that offers flight information in an innovative, vivid 3D display and added Connecting Gate Information (CGI), enabling travelers to check flight status, gate and baggage collection information. To make flights more atmospheric and less monotonous, EVA selected a situational lighting system (Mood Light) which enables the cabin crew to adjust colors.

With the delivery of this new A321-200, EVA’s operating fleet reaches 58 aircraft. In addition to the agreement to add 12 Airbus 321-200s, EVA also signed a contract this May to introduce 7 Boeing 777-300ERs, to be delivered from 2014 through 2016. After all the new aircraft are delivered, EVA will operate more than 70 aircraft.